Press release

On August 8, 2017, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) released a statement, through its National Executive Committee, exposing an assassination attempt against NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison, with verbal approvals from Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and AFP Chief Gen. Eduardo Ano, and a subsequent military ploy to overthrow the Duterte regime through a coup d’etat. This so-called two stage plot is allegedly instigated by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The said report is said to be from sources inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), but needs further verification.

Last August 4, 2017,
Solicitor General Jose Calida appealed to courts all over the country to cancel
the bail previously granted to NDFP consultants and similarly encouraged orders
for the rearrest of consultants. The conditional release was granted for
purposes of their participation in the peace talks.

On the morning of September
10, 2016, Marcos Aggalao was arrested by combined elements of the police and
the military in Gawaan, Balbalan, Kalinga. During the time of his arrest, the
74-year-old is alreadysuffering from
pneumonia, dementia and hypertension. He was later brought to the Kalinga
Police Provincial office before being committed at the Bureau of Jail and
Management Penology (BJMP) in Tabuk, Kalinga. Eight (8) trumped-up charges were
filed against Aggalao.

In a national interfaith and humanitarian mission (NIHM) launched by Kalinaw Mindanao last July 26-29, 2017, Karapatan, along with several other delegations from various peoples organizations, were able to document human rights violations in relation to the martial law declaration in Mindanao. “Apart from the trend where State forces are rounding up evacuees to manufacture enemies used to justify martial rule, grave abuses such as extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances were also noted by the mission team,” said Karapatan general Cristina Palabay.

On July 31, 2017, three independent experts from the United Nations Human Rights Council released a joint statement* calling for government action on increasing rights violations in the Philippines. “Karapatan welcomes the statement of the UN experts and supports the urgent call for the investigation and immediate resolution to the myriad cases of human rights violations in the country,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.

Karapatan joined Kalinaw Mindanao, Gabriela, and other national and local organizations, in the 2nd National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission among Marawi evacuees last July 27-29, 2017. Aside from conducting psychosocial intervention programs, medical missions, and relief distribution, the team also documented human rights violations under the context of martial law’s implementation. "In the said mission, information gathered indicate a worrisome trend wherein State forces start rounding up evacuees in evacuation centers to wrongfully present them as ISIS members," said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.

Arafat Lala, a 38-year-old mechanic, evacuated to Saguiaran Poblacion evacuation center with his family on May 24, 2017. According to an affidavit issued by his wife, Noraidah, he was arrested on July 23, 2017 by elements of the Crime Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based on mere suspicion that Arafat is a terrorist. Noraidah, however, denied such allegations, claiming her husband is not an ISIS member and was even chosen as among the leaders in the evacuation center to help systematize distribution of relief goods. Local DSWD officials and fellow evacuees in Saguiaran can attest to his identity and work in the evacuation center. In fact, hours before he was arrested, Arafat and several volunteers just came back from bringing in boxes of relief assistance from Iligan City.

As of this writing, Arafat is believed to be in the custody of CIDG Region X in Cagayan de Oro.

“Even without the formal declaration of martial law in Luzon and the Visayas, the military is on a rampage in killing, harassing, illegally arresting and driving people out from their communities, through counter-insurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan. In essence, de facto martial law exists because State security forces have remained unrelenting in their attacks against poor Filipinos, from the past regimes to the Duterte administration,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary General, upon receiving reports from the organization’s chapters in Bicol, Negros, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos on incidents of human rights violations.

President Rodrigo Duterte is fast becoming a disappointment. He has started to increasingly bow down to the dictates of pro-US lackeys, turning his back from the progressive initiatives he has started. The GRP-NDFP peace negotiations is now in limbo, as he forces a bilateral ceasefire deal while undermining discussions on socioeconomic and political reforms, and is blatantly violating agreements on human rights and international humanitarian law. He has reneged on his promise to release all political prisoners through a general amnesty. Moreover, he has willingly surrendered people’s rights in lieu of military rule. He is increasingly pandering to the interests not of the Filipino people but to US imperialists and their loyal lapdogs in the top echelons of the military - Esperon, Lorenzana and Ano - who have the most to gain in an open fascist rule.

More than a year has passed since Mr. Duterte's ascension to the Presidency. That is sufficient time for the Duterte government to set itself apart from previous administrations, but by and large, it has failed to do so. He has reneged on his promises to the people - promises that could have defined the kind of change and leadership he can offer. Such promises include the release of all political prisoners through a general and unconditional amnesty, engaging the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations to genuinely address the root causes of armed conflict, the free distribution of land to farmers, ending the widespread practice of contractualization in labor, fighting corruption and prosecuting big-time plunderers, among others.

On the evening of July 20, 2017, Karapatan secretary general Cristina ‘Tinay’ Palabay received an anonymous call from a male who then proceeded to threaten Palabay, warning her that "times are different because of martial law." He warned Karapatan’s Palabay to stop her work as a human rights defender, threatening her that she is on their ‘list’. The call lasted for some 10-15 minutes. Karapatan, along with different organizations, had earlier staged a protest action in front of Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame to demand the immediate lifting of martial law, the withdrawal of counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan, and an end to the drug war campaign.